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Relaxing

Almost a week into our holiday in Slovenia and we find ourselves in Italy. The north east of Italy borders Slovenia and so far I find the two cultures to complement each other. Even so they have a troubled recent history as so many in Europe do. In the two parts of Gorizia (old and new) they seem to live side by side without admitting each other exists. Of course, this may be deceptive and we are here just briefly.

We are now relaxing into our holiday and finding our place to enjoy these different cultures. Amongst, that is the changeable weather. Hot and steamy with thunderstorms and heavy rain thrown in. That means we are having to navigate planned activities with unforeseen weather. Hiking up hills and mountains, picnicking with beautiful views, or they would be if we could see the horizon.

Actually we are beginning to relax. To enjoy our selves and to go with the flow. As is usual we can cope with hot weather, mosquitoes, thunderstorms and rain. We can love the hotels with their quirky ways, the restaurants that only speak one language. Last night we coped with one with no written menu and had to navigate the spoken word that we do not speak.

Yes, we are on holiday and we are relaxing.

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Out and about

Today we headed out into the hills above our current base in Kobarid, Slovenia. This is an area for various sports – canoeing, kayaking and hiking in summer, skiing etc. in winter. It is also an area of historical significance, many Italian soldiers lost their lives here during the first world war.

While we encountered plenty of other people on our long walk today, there were long periods when we saw no one. In the forest you could hear only the birds and insects as well as the sound of our own feet and at times heavy breathing. No, we weren’t having sex, just two older people walking up a steep incline.

Master did manage to take a few photos of me, amongst those of the wider scenery.

 

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The balcony shot

Apologies for not following the June prompt. I was set to do so, but then a photo opportunity arose this morning.

This photo was taken on the balcony  of our lovely hotel room. I really like Master’s edit of the original and I hope others like it too.

 

Sinful Sunday
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It’s June, let’s post every damn day!

Hyacinth has started something new for this month to try to get herself back into the blogging way. Called: Every Damn Day in June it is about just that. Blogging every day.

I am currently on holiday in Slovenia, a country that was part of the former Yugoslavia. It borders Italy and Austria and is around a 2 hour flight from London. We should have wifi in all of the hotels we are staying as we tour around, but there is no guarantee it will work all the time. There is also no certainty that I will be able to write every day when I get home. But let’s give it a go. Posts will be a mixture of travel, general thoughts and kink. I can’t say at the moment in what proportions.

This is Lake Bled, we are staying here for a couple of nights. Tomorrow we will have the time to explore the area a little more.

 

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Blogging A-Z 2018: R

Rest and Recuperation

After a long winter of cold and wet weather plus very little sun it is amazing to emerge and unwind in such a beautiful place as this. Strangely, the weather at home is also suddenly good. But given a choice for down time, I’d rather be here than there.

The past few months have been busy. My mum’s house move was both stressful and tiring and since then I have had little time to myself. Even France at Easter was busy as it was more of a working weekend than one of rest. This week though has been entirely different.

Although we have done lots of walking – over 20k steps each of the last two days – we have done it at a leisurely pace. Often when we are away, we stay in hotels and move around from place to place. This time though we have rented an apartment and stayed in one place. This is our third trip to this city, but we haven’t tired of it. We have continued to find new places to see. restaurants and bars to try and things to do.

We haven’t packed the days in a busy tourist way, but have strolled. loitered and watched the world go by. This has been an amazing time of rest and recuperation. It reminds me that I want to work less and travel more, something I hope will be able to happen soon.

 

 

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Blogging A-Z 2018: Q

What a difficult letter Q is to find interesting words for. Unless that is you are in  Spain with someone who speaks Spanish.

Q is for Querer (To love in Spanish)

I am no linguist, but luckily he is. Listening to Master converse with the locals or the taxi driver as he did when we arrived on Monday is a sound to behold.  I have learned that during those first few hours and days of speaking a language again after a break he covers up by gesticulating and laughing. People are happy to help him refine the words he is struggling with, because he tries so hard and so few people try to speak the language. I love that he is able to do so and know he enjoys that he makes himself understood. I love also that speaking a language rekindles his love for the literature and culture of that country.

Master has brought me to this part of Spain 3 times now and I love the sunny days, the relaxed way of life, the friendly people. I also love that you can start the day late, but because they eat lunch and then dinner later than we do at home, you can easily catch up. The culture of the area is amazing, testimony to the history, often troubled that brought the people to this place in time.

We enjoy travelling to new places and always he tries to speak the language. I have to be satisfied with simple words. Such as please, thank you, the bill or glass of wine or beer. However I am trying to broaden my horizons and know more words. This is easier for me in France as I do have a reasonable knowledge of the vocabulary. Spanish though is something different, I didn’t learn it at school, unlike French. It is also easy to just let him lead.

But he is also happy to try Italian and German. He is also able to speak Dutch from having lived in Amsterdam a few years back. It would be lovely if I could speak more foreign languages myself. But since I can’t I am lucky that he loves language and loves Spain. And I love him.

 

 

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Blogging A-Z 2018: P

P is for Poise

As I mentioned yesterday, we are currently on holiday in Seville, Spain. During the afternoon we walked down to the fairground area where the Feria is being held. Our host told us walking was the best option, and to just follow the people. As we left the restaurant where we had enjoyed lunch we followed a young couple. She dressed in her flamenco dress, he in a light coloured suit. Within 5 or 10 minutes we were following a dozen couples, or women walking together. Then as we approached the gateway to the fair, a mass of people surrounded us. Some, like us weren’t dressed up but most were.

We stopped to cross the road to enter the Feria and had to wait as numerous horse drawn carriages passed. Each taking groups of friends or families to the fair. Accompanying them were men and women on horses. The women riders caught my attention as they were riding side saddle. This is something I have only seen on tv – our royal family and period dramas.

I was struck by the poise and the elegance of these women. Sitting straight backed, and looking cool and collected despite the heat of the Spanish sun. I was in awe of this sight, even more than the beauty of those dressed in their frilly gowns.

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Sinful Sunday – Playful

During the past week I have barely seen the inside of my own home. At the beginning of the week we travelled north so I could attend a concert. Then Thursday saw us at a hotel in Gatwick ahead of our trip to France on Friday.  This trip to my apartment in the south of France is about getting some pre-season maintenance done. That has meant painting, buying and putting together a new sofa bed rather than anything kinky. So it hasn’t been easy to find time to take photos for this month’s Sinful Sunday prompt of humour. However we were having fun and being playful when Master took these photos on Monday evening in Manchester. The room really was beautiful, it’s a shame we didn’t get to spend more time there. Maybe next time…..

 

Sinful Sunday
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Blogging A-Z 2018: A

This is the third year that I have participated in Blogging A-Z. This year i am going to try to make my topics a little more mainstream. They will, however clearly link to kink and may on occasion be NSFW.

A is for Amsterdam

Amsterdam is important to Master and I for many reasons. For him it is a place he went to work during a difficult time in life, but it is a place of many happy memories. Work may have been challenging at times, but he learned the language (as much as is possible for an English person) and he explored much more of the country than is usual. Sex was important part of his life at that time, something he explored through the sex workers he met during that time. One of those lovely ladies is now a friend to us both, her life is different now. But our friendship was created through theirs in the late 90’s.

I have some fantastic memories of our trips to that wonderful city. It is interesting to visit a city such as Amsterdam with someone who knows it so well. This means that we steer clear of the most tourist focused areas, including most of the red light district and pubs. Instead we have a few favourite restaurants and bars and explore great canal areas, buildings and galleries. On one trip we travelled out to Otterlo, home of the Kröller-Müller museum and Hoge Veluwe National Park. We cycled around the park in early spring and visited the wonderful collection of paintings including many by Van Gough.

We have stayed in some beautiful hotel rooms in Amsterdam, a boutique hotel where I tried my first dutch gin in the little honesty bar. A huge room with its own large jacuzzi bath and sauna. As well the hotel for our trip in December, before our stay got extended due to the snow. 

Amsterdam hotel room with it’s own jacuzzi bath and sauna

 

 

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Joy

Taken while on our weekend away a couple of weeks ago, I call this photo Joy. I wouldn’t usually show this much of my face, but to do so seems right. It is lovely that I look so joyful, because I was. Next weekend we will be staying at our favourite London hotel. Coupled with attending Eroticon this should also be joyful.
Sinful Sunday